Happy Birthday, Betty!
Happy Birthday, Betty White. White, a National Treasure, turns 90 today. In addition to her animal rights activism and her long successful career in film and television, she is also a proponent of equal rights for the LGBT community. White was quoted: “Gays love old ladies. I don’t care who anybody sleeps with. If a couple has been together all that time—and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones—I think it’s fine if they want to get married.” Her character of Sue Ann Nivens, the Happy Homemaker, on Mary Tyler Moore was one of my favorite roles of White’s. And what gay man did not watch White in the Golden Girls? Years later, I’m enjoying her as the feisty mob bride on Hot In Cleveland.
Of course, I love White’s fight against misogyny with her comment:
Why do people say “Grow some balls?” Balls are weak and sensitive! If you really wanna get tough, grow a vagina! Those things take a pounding!
Brava, to our much beloved Betty White. Of course, for me she will always be the ever charming Sue Ann Nivens. Here is our Sue Ann as a “Tawny Beast.”
Social Justice For All 
I’m awestruck by the awesomeness of that vagina joke. Damn. Betty White rules.
And a small follow-up on our dialogue yesterday: I’m with you, and also prefer Ina to Giada. Giada looks lovely, but she has an aloof quality that makes me suspect she’d snub me rather than hug me. Ina, on the other hand, is a hugely warm and welcoming presence–the Jewish Mother that dreams are made of.
This all ties together loosely in my demented imagination: if Betty White would be the Best Grandma Ever, then Ina Garten would be a good choice for Best Mom Ever. The irony is that neither woman had any children of her own; I wonder if this is part of the reason they have so much maternal energy to share with their fans.
Yes, amazing that at 90, Betty is the “It Girl” for 2012.
I love and totally see Ina as the ideal Jewish Mother. I have the exact same impression of our Giada–not a warm friendly.